12/19/05 - This is the season
for candles with a third of annual sales coming during the two-month period
of Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year's.

The $2 billion candle industry,
which peaked in the 1990s, has shown signs of slowing. Annual sales growth,
once 10 to 15 percent, has slowed to 2 to 3 percent, according to the
National Candle Association. A.C. Nielsen figures show candle and candle
accessory sales in mass merchandisers, supermarkets and drug stores dropped
2.7 percent in the 12 months leading up to Nov. 5. Those figures don't
take into account specialty stores.

Maine's Village Candle has made
adjustments and is still growing. So has Yankee Candle Co., the leading
maker of premium scented candles. Despite the slowing market, most large
candle makers are still going strong, the NCA says.

"As with any trend, there
is an initial spike in sales while consumers try the new items. Sales
are now flattening out and normalizing due to the market maturing,"
said Tammie Deauseault, vice president of product development at Village
Candle. Village Candle's sales began softening in 2000. The company shifted
directions in 2003, focusing less on specialty stores and more on grocery
and drug stores. The company also launched a new line of candles that
costs less than its premium line. Village Candle's supermarket and drug
store sales grew 54 percent in the past year, to more than $17 million.

Massachusetts-based Yankee Candle
is cutting costs by closing as many as 20 stores, reducing its work force
and raising prices in response to rising energy costs as well as the growing
cost of paraffin wax.

"It was just this incredible
boom in the 1990s. Suddenly people seemed to be interested in candles.
It was also the same time that people became interested in scented candles.
The two trends merged together," said Barbara Miller from the National
Candle Association.

Despite the maturing market,
there's still plenty of room for growth, said Rick Ruffolo, spokesman
for Yankee Candle. Candle makers are expanding into new markets, joining
the market for plug-in scents and other home fragrances. Village and Yankee
have lines of fresheners for cars and trucks, Village has patio candles
that repel insects.

Candles Get Light from LEDs

11/10/05 - Candles are nothing new, but how
about candles with embedded LEDs? These candles glow not only from their
flame but from the LED (light emitting diode--these are now being used
in some types of lighting because they last much longer than traditional
bulbs) within the wax. You can get candles with rainbow LEDs that alternate
through a spectrum of colors.

Tariff Case Could Affect
Holiday Candle Sales

9/09/05 - The National Candle
Association cautions U.S. retailers and importers that a pending tariff
case extending anti-dumping duties on Chinese candles could negatively
affect holiday sales revenues. At issue is a 1986 ruling stating that
all scented and unscented dinner candles, self-standing candles, votives,
and container candles containing at least 50 percent petroleum wax are
subject to anti-dumping duties, currently 108.3 percent. Chinese
manufacturers have circumvented the ruling by adding palm and vegetable-based
waxes to keep the percentage of petroleum wax below 50 percent.

In 1986, palm and vegetable-based
waxes were rarely used in candle-making. Earlier this year, the U.S. candle
industry petitioned the U.S. Commerce Department, alleging the Chinese
actions. In July, the International Trade Commission determined that the
anti-dumping duty should remain in effect, and that candles containing
any amount of petroleum wax were "domestic-like" products. Although
a ruling by the Commerce Department is not expected until January 2006,
the duty would be applied retroactively to candles that entered the U.S.
as of February 15, 2005.

Yankee Candle's Fall and Winter
2005 collection includes a multitude of fragrances and accessories that add
warmth, coziness and cheer to home decor. Christmas Wreath, a favorite holiday
scent of freshly cut pine boughs in rich deep green, is offered in a full
range of commodities this year with a new label sure to become a classic.
A novelty red ceramic house filled with this fragrance - its windows and door
festive with wreaths - is new and exclusive for retailers. In addition, Christmas
Wreath ceramic accessories are offered in shades, candle trays, wax potpourri
burner, votive holder, tea light holders in three patterns to look like wrapped
gifts, and a hanging potpourri burner.

The company's new scents for season
include:

New for Christmas is Cranberry Peppermint
dressed up in fresh, contemporary red and green striped accessories. Cranberry
Peppermint has a fruity tang of tart cranberries with the cool scent of peppermint
in cheerful red.

New and Exclusive this season is
Holiday Twinkle with the sparkle of fresh pine with a hint of citrus and spice
in a festive dark green. When paired with Holiday Topiary accessories, a classic
holiday statement.

Back by popular demand is Christmas
Wish with the aroma of warm vanilla cookies sprinkled with sugar sparkles.

Another favorite is Peppermint Cocoa,
a lush chocolate fragranced with a peppermint twist.

The market for candles and home fragrances reached
$8.4 billion in 2004, growth of 14.1 percent over previous year. Driven
by consumers' desire for their homes to smell good, some 80 percent of all
adult Americans bought some kind of home fragrance product in the past year,
including candles and candle accessories, sprays, plugs-ins, room fresheners,
potpourris, air fresheners, air purifiers and more. As consumer demand for
fragrance for their home grows, more marketers are exploring opportunities
in home fragrancing alternatives.

While candles remain consumers
top pick for home fragrance, the market for other home fragrance products
is growing faster than that for candles. Delivering home fragrances has
been a source of new product innovation.

People are burning candles in the garden, selecting
new fuels, such as soy and oils; and shopping for candles and lighting accessories
in places like the local Wal-Mart or grocery store where whole aisles are
devoted to the category. Savvy marketers and retailers will address these
and other trends in the changing ways consumers are using and shopping for
candles, home fragrances, lighting accessories and air filtration products.

Yankee Candle Introduces
New Fragrances and Accessories for Fall

Yankee Candle's fall 2005 introductions
include two new fragrances, accessories and a completely new product.
The Housewarmer Room Perfume will be introduced in September in six of
the company's Housewarmer fragrances. Each Room Perfume comes in a sculpted
glass vase with coordinating shade.

The company's new fragrances
for fall are Mandarin Cranberry and Autumn Wreath. Mandarin Cranberry
is available in candles and home fragrance products. It is a rich fragrance
with a citrus tang. Autumn Wreath, which is also offered in a range of
products, combines the spicy warmth of autumn leaves with cinnamon apples.

The company is introducing
two ranges of candle accessories for fall. The Rooster Collection features
the popular motif in bright red, gold, orange and green painted ceramic.
The roosters are available in large and small candle shades and plates,
wax potpourri burner, votive holder and two tea-light designs.

The Stoneberry Collection features
delicate raised berries in red and gold on a pale green ribbed ceramic. It
is available in small and large candle shades and plates, votive holders and
tea-light holders.